The Supreme Court has said it would recon­stitute a panel to hear a suit seeking to remove the governor of Bauchi State, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar over a pre-election dis­pute that emanated from the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary of 2015.

The appellant, Comrade Abdullahi Tanko is challenging the emergence of Governor Abubakar as the APC governorship candidate in the last general election.

Also named as respondents in the suit are the APC (2nd respondent) and the Independent Na­tional Electoral Commission (INEC) 3rd respond­ent. At the proceedings, the apex court five man panel led by Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivor, said it was returning the case file to the CJN for him to re-con­stitute a fresh panel to hear and determine the suit.

Justice Rhodes-Vivor stated that counsel to par­ties in the suit would be notified from the Supreme Court’s registry when the panel is reconstituted to hear the appeal.

In a written address dated 8 October, 2018 and filed on the same day by the appellant’s counsel, Mr. Herbert Nwoye, Tanko is urging the apex court to set aside its earlier judgment of July this year which validated the election of Governor Abubakar.

According to the appellant, the verdict of the Su­preme Court was reached in breach of his consti­tutionally guaranteed right to fair hearing, adding that, “for existence of manifest errors on the face of the record upon which the judgment is based.”

He is seeking, “an order that the 1st respondent’s Appeal No. SC/854/2016 be remitted back to the Chief Hon. Chief Justice of Nigeria, to constitute an­other panel of Justices of this court to hear and de­termine the said appeal under an accelerated mode, being pre-2015 general election matter.